Crossing New Bridges

There was much to do when it came to opening a new tavern. Not only was it a bar, but it was also a family restaurant. It was the fifth Louvel pub in Louisiana, and would keep the Louvel family secure even if Andre decided not to teach anymore. He had taken the rest of the year off, what with the excess stress and all. Professor Louvel had finished up his courses then decided to take a mental health break. Not only for himself, but for the baby on the way as well. With a lack of reason to go back to the University he had an itch to spend more time in his home state, and had tried to lure his wife to stay long with such a beautiful home.

Unfortunately that home was nearly empty. New things were being delivered, and boxes of some of their things sat around the house. The bedroom had their big, luscious bed and a TV to keep their mind’s busy (since Andre couldn’t bring himself to keep her busy otherwise), but the house was sill not done.

By the time Andre came home it was mid afternoon and his stomach was growling. He was always hungry now days, feeding the spirit of two animals and keeping his heart racing. The wolf pulled his truck into the dirt driveway and snuck inside as quietly as he could, but was rather like a bull in a china shop. He inhaled slowly, then stepped outside to the back porch to find Addie on the ground. “Hello, my loves.” He cooed the words in a low voice and got down on his hands and knees, crawling around Adella and kissing her neck quickly up to her mouth. As he had done for the passed few months he lingered in the kiss like he wanted more, then pulled back and forced a smile on his face. “How are you feeling today?” He asked as he sat beside her, running his hand over her plump little belly. The sound of the frogs in the swamp nearby eased his troubled mind, and the feeling of Addie’s stomach lifted a weight off of his chest.

"Are you hungry?" He needed to get her out of the house so he could finish her surprise.

“Sick?” Why had she felt sick? Even though Andre had been through two pregnancies already they had been very different, and with a different woman. Adella was so delicate. She was so fragile and carrying a wolf baby in her human form. He tilted his head and frowned, knitting his brows when she mentioned the baby hadn’t moved. Instead of worrying her more he leaned down and put his ear against her stomach. His finger tapped gently near her belly button and he turned towards her belly. “Hello?” The wolf said against her, then blew a raspberry on her stomach. It was rare now days that he was so playful, but the surprise he had in mind had him in a very good mood.

“So you think it’s a boy, cheri?” Andre asked as he sat up, brushing her hair away from her face. He got up from the floor and reached for her hands to help her up. “Come on, let’s go feed our boy. You can come and see how the restaurant’s doing.” Besides that the cook knew exactly how Addie liked her food, and made plenty to fill up that belly of hers every time. Andre glanced at his watch after helping Addie up and pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Ready?” The wolf asked, trying his best to play cool and not let on to her surprise.

The sick feeling so late in the pregnancy made Andre uneasy. If the baby wasn’t healthy or there was something wrong they had no idea. She had refused to go to the doctor, but little did she know that Andre had pushed all his work meetings and they had an appointment tomorrow. He was dying to find out the sex of the baby, and to make sure everything was healthy. He just had to butter her up first.

“It was okay. I was more excited to come home and see you.” In all honesty Andre loved his work. He loved putting himself back into the Louvel Taverns, but he was a working man. If he didn’t have his hands in something he wasn’t happy. “I don’t care what it is as long as it’s healthy.” The wolf said with a kiss. He had two boys before, and he was assured in his ability to throw another boy. His father had a son, and his grandfather had a son. They were a strong male line, and male wolves were hardier than females even in the womb.

When Addie stood and kissed him he leaned down into it, touching her face and lingering against her mouth. “I’m starved.” Not only for food, but that’s what he would be getting tonight.

The drive to the Tavern didn’t take long. For the most part Andre was quiet and stoic just as he had been for the passed three months, but every now and they would reach over and touch Addie’s hair or stomach. As they pulled in and went into the tavern everyone working smiled and greeted them, admiring Adella’s belly as she walked by and giving her a warm welcome. The old regulars, a few old witches and a fae, were glad to have Andre’s presence back in their small parish. While he was gone the only wolves had been loners passing through and stirring up trouble, but since the alpha had returned all had been calm. No one intruded on his territory.

Andre led Addie to a booth and slid in next to her, then wrapped his arm around his shoulder and kissed her. “What do you want to eat tonight, cheri?” It wasn’t the same as his cooking, but the food was still very good.

It was going to be a long process to get Andre back to himself, and by the time he fully reached it the baby would probably already be out. He had to admit, it was painstakingly hard to keep up with double the wolf energy, but it would be worth it after the nine months were over. He only had four left to go!

As Addie cuddled up to him he put his arm around her and leaned in to kiss her. If it wasn’t for the wolf fiasco he would have been euphoric in Louisiana. Pregnant Addie, a new restaurant, and a new house, what wasn’t there to be blissful about? He smiled as the waitress nearly hopped in front of them and asked what they wanted. The wolf ordered fried mozzarella and some maple bacon wrapped little smokies. That aught to fix Addie’s craving… right? He then ordered her some fried chicken with steamed veggies for her health, and some water. Andre may have been all for fried food, but he was being a stickler about her eating enough vegetables and fruit as well. (oh, and of course he ordered enough steak and potatoes for himself to feed three men his size).

After the waitress had wandered off to put in his order and left two Cokes for them Andre turned to Addie. He smiled at her lovingly and tilted her chin up to kiss her, taking full advantage of the private booth to give her an enticing kiss. “I love you.” He said lingering near her mouth and he kissed her again. All of this affection had a price. After a few seconds longer he pulled back and ran his fingers through her hair. “I love you, and our baby.” Never one to beat around the bush he went in and ripped the band-aid off. “I made a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow, Addie. I need to make sure you and the baby are healthy. I pushed all my meetings out an extra day and they can handle it without me tomorrow, so I called and made an appointment with Dr. Haas. Maybe she can even point you in the direction of a midwife…” He knew she wouldn’t want IVs and all the medicine that a hospital could offer, but a midwife could provide care with a holistic approach. “I’m not very good at delivering babies. She should have a list of names and can tell us the best midwife to pick.”

So much for romance was right, but it was better for Andre to avoid romance. He was too stressed out and would probably end up hurting her, or so he thought. Her hand closer to his thigh made him want to flip her onto the table like some sort of animal, and he felt as easy as a teenage boy. How pathetic.

When she shrieked his name he glanced around and set his hands on the table, groaning slightly as the glanced shot their way. None lingered, but it still irked the wolf and he took a breath to keep himself collected. “They’re doctors, Addie. They know what they’re doing. They just look at the baby and see that nothing is wrong and that’s it! You need care, Adella. You need someone to look after you and that baby to make sure everythin’ is goin’ smoothly! What if there’s somethin’ wrong? Huh? Then what? People have been usin’ doctors for thousands of years.” It wasn’t his fault that her village was a completely different world. As stern as his words were he kept his voice low so as not to cause a scene. “I don’t care if you don’t trust them. I do, and that’s my kid too.” Not to mention that they could also look at Adella and make sure nothing would go wrong with her. He didn’t know what he’d do if he lost her.

“We’re going to the doctor, because I’ll be damned if I’m goin’ through all of this only to lose the baby because you won’t go to the doctor and somethin' gets missed." Oops, maybe that was a little more harsh than he intended. He swallowed a growl and ran his hand over his face. He hated it when she was so damn stubborn, and he especially hated it when she pulled away from him like that.

It was easy to overreact. It was easy to blow up about the silliest thing and let himself go rampant. Conversation was hard and compromising was even harder. Why couldn’t she just see things his way? “Babies aren’t always born just fine.” He mumbled in an irritated voice, but took a deep breath to collect himself and swallowed back some of his frustration.

Her resolution wasn’t exactly seeing it perfectly clear his way and there was an itch in him that wanted to argue more but instead he nodded. “Fine. I’m not sayin’ you have to go and get medicine and doped up. I just want them to look at you, listen to the baby, and maybe do an ultra sound so they can see that everything is fine.” Didn’t her village have midwives or ultra old fashioned doctors? No. No that wasn’t the point anymore.

For a moment Andre sat stiffly and felt his frustration still bubbling, but reminded himself that anger was a useless emotion. He swallowed hard, then scooted closer to Addie and slid his hand around her waist and leaned his forehead down on her shoulder. He sighed and let his anger go step by step. “I’m sorry,” He started in French, the way he spoke when it was only meant for her. “I just worry about you, and it’s only worse now. I knew you would say no if I asked, but I thought it would be different if it was all ready for you.” It was rare that Andre opened up so much, and especially during a fight. It was extremely rare that he was admitting his train of thought and why he was apologizing. Normally all anyone would get was a ‘sorry’ and a grunt. He scooted in even closer and put his other hand on her stomach. “We can find out the sex of the baby and start picking out names.” The wolf finally picked his head up and kissed her cheek, trying to change the winds back to the romance they had only moments ago.

When Addie gave in and let go of her irritation it made Andre’s life a hell of a lot easier. He draped his arm around her shoulder and soon the waitress came by to drop off their appetizers, just in the knick of time. “Thanks hun.” He smiled at the waitress who beamed.

“Can I get you anything else, Mr. Louvel?” She smiled brightly at him with a bit of a blush in her cheek.

“A tall Guiness please.” A tall dark beer to calm the nerves. After he ordered he picked up a mozzarella stick and offered it up to Addie. “No more fighting tonight. Agreed?” He held up the food for her to bite, then quickly turned it around and put it in his own mouth with a smirk. Within a minute the waitress had swung by and set down his beer, and by the first drink the wolf began to relax and feel more himself. If Ms. Chloe was around it would have made her frown to see him drink, but he had a good handle on himself. Or so he thought.

All was at peace, at least for the remainder of the evening. Andre lifted his tall glass to his mouth to drink and took a long gulp only to catch Addie scarfing when he set his drink down. He swallowed hard and grunted. “Hey!” The wolf tried to snatch one of the sticks, then decided to start eating the maple bacon tiny hot dogs instead and gave her a ‘ha ha’ look.

The rest of dinner went swimmingly and Andre took his time eating. He lingered at the tavern for a while, having another drink and mingling with the regulars at the bar before taking Addie home late. As they walked up to the house he glanced around to make sure the coast was clear before going inside, his hand around her waist. The wolf led her inside and kissed her, cupping her face as he did so. “I have a surprise for you.” He said the words close to her mouth before kissing her again. It was a good thing he had the surprise to distract him. With that he took her hand and led her upstairs to the room right down the hall from their’s and opened the door. Inside the room had been painted a light grey with tape still up in places to add a color (either pink or blue, depending on what they had). There was a big off white recliner in the room and sheer curtains hung, and in the corner sat a box with a beautiful black and white crib waiting to be put together. The nursery had been completely empty up until now, and now all it needed was the final call on whether it would be pink or blue.

“Surprise.”

The room wasn’t fully completed yet because Andre just had a friend deliver the stuff and set it inside, then quickly paint the walls a base grey. He wanted to set everything up for Addie. He wanted to put the crib together, and finish off the painting once they knew what they were having (but a bucket of blue paint already sat in the corner of the room).

The smile on Addie’s face was enough to wipe away any lingering hard feelings about tonight. He felt at ease to see her so happy, and he returned the kiss when she came back to him. “I’m glad. I can add color after we find out what we’re having.” Maybe he should have hidden the blue paint just incase. Oh well, he wouldn’t worry about it so much after tomorrow.

He touched her stomach and leaned in to kiss her more, letting himself go a little further than he had been lately. It eased the tension he felt in his chest as he kissed her and felt comfort by letting himself get closer to his wife again. Still, it stirred up the wolf in him and as he ran his hands over Addie’s hips he felt the eagerness of the wolf within him. Soon he was gripping her hips and backing her up against the wall, his hands running up her sides and lifting her arms above her head. It was funny how quickly the wolf could escalate.

Outside a grey SUV pulled into the driveway, it’s tires tearing up the gravel as it spun in. The doors of the SUV slammed as two men got out of the truck and hustled around it, speaking to each other lowly. Andre’s body froze but he lifted his head away from Addie and inhaled slowly. “Stay here.” He warned before heading downstairs to the trouble that banged on the door.

The wolf was finally relaxing and let himself laugh a little. It was the first time in what felt like ages that he chuckled. “I don’t care either way, I just think it’s gonna be a boy.” Past experiences dictated that prediction. If she was this happy about Louisiana he couldn’t wait to see how happy she’d be when he unpacked all the baby things he’d had shipped to their home. Still, he had a hard time thinking of it as ‘home’ with how relaxed he felt near New Orleans. He smiled and nuzzled her neck, kissing her soft skin and letting himself unwind until he heard the car.

The two men outside got out of their truck and banged on Andre’s SUV when they walked passed it. “Andre Louvel!” They called out angrily. The voice sent a chill down his spine and heated the wolf’s anger. Andre stepped out onto the porch and let the door slam behind him.

“Look what the cat dragged in. Funny how you can show your face ‘round here, Andre.” Said the taller wolf, his counter part cackling behind him.

Andre stepped off the porch and towards the men, his eyes already showing the wolf within him as he looked them over. “Get lost, Jericho. I ain’t lookin’ for trouble, but if you don’t get off my property—“

“You’ll what? Abandon your land like you did the last time?”

There was a snarl that echoed and silenced the frogs around the house as Andre charged and shifted. It wasn’t the first time he shifted out of his control, and it wouldn’t be the last. The two men were quick to change but not as quick as Andre and as soon as their paws hit the ground he was after them. Snarls and growls froze the night around them as the three wolves fought. The two men were part of a neighboring pack from when Andre had been alpha. Neither of them had been alpha, but Jericho had been a higher ranking wolf that always wanted in on the Louvel pack’s land. It didn’t settle lightly with Andre that he had the nerve to show up now and call him out, since both men had fled when the hunter’s first arrived.

Andre fought brutally with the two men, not able to hold back from injuring the smaller one and throwing him against their truck. It left a large dent and the grey wolf yelped as his leg broke in the crash. Jericho, a black wolf like Andre but smaller, grabbed onto Andre’s neck and stated to shake his jaws. Blood was thrown onto the ground as the two wolves fought and shook each other’s flesh, and soon Andre had Jericho by the throat with him pinned down. A snarl ripped through his chest as he held him, barely able to keep himself from killing the intruder. The smaller wolf shifted back into human form and cowered near Andre. “Let him go! Let him go, Andre!” But Andre couldn’t be reasoned with to loosen his grip on the wolf’s throat. He was protecting his dignity, his painful memories, and most important of all he was protecting Adella.

It wasn’t just self control that was making him attack the wolves. They were part of a pack that had done nothing to help save his pack, even when they were slaughtered. They had simply run for the hills and kept their noses clear and away from the hunters. They were cowards, and all the built up frustration Andre had tried to drink away was coming out in his aggression towards the two pack mates.

Just as he felt his jaws gripping a little tighter Addie burst out of the door. He quickly looked to her and saw the injured wolf, apparently not injured enough, lunge for the pretty human girl. It was instinct to attack a human. They were a danger to werewolf kind, and this one smelled like Andre. As fast as he could he dropped the black wolf and struck as quickly as a rattle snake at the wolf headed for Addie. A vicious shake once his jaws locked around his throat was all it took to snap the smaller wolf’s neck and leave him dead. While Andre shook the little wolf who had gone after Addie the black wolf behind him snapped and tore open his leg, shedding blood all over the ground. Andre turned and snapped and snarled at the other and chased him to his truck. Quickly the man shifted and jumped up in the bed of the truck, throwing his hands up in a truce before crawling in the back window and taking off.

After the truck took off Andre chased it down the drive way, then stood and watched it leave. His body bleeding in various places before he looked back at the destruction the two had caused, and stared at Adella before shifting back into his broken human form.

Everything had happened so quickly that Andre was still reeling from what had happened. It was like the older days when he fought as a younger wolf, fighting without question and scrapping just to taste blood. The fight tonight had good reason behind it, or so he thought, but it didn’t mean his body wouldn’t ache. He knelt down at the end of the driveway, catching his breath as he heard Addie call to him. Inside. Yes, inside would be nice. Inside where it was safe, and there were things to wrap his wounds until they healed.

His chest heaved for a few minutes before his heart began to slow down and relax after the adrenaline. “I’m fine, cheri.” He muttered, his voice deep but quiet. Soon the wolf shook his head and stood up, then limped his way back into the house. As he passed the dead wolf he growled, then whined a little when he walked up the porch steps. The body was nothing to worry about. Someone from their pack would be there to pick it up by morning for the rituals that needed to follow, and Andre had killed him out of defense for his mate. He wasn’t worried.

Once inside the wolf managed to find his way into the bathroom. He started the water in the tub, then changed his mind and turned on the shower instead. “Are you okay, Addie?” He finally voiced, running his hands over his hair to get the mess out of his eyes. There were bite marks here and there over his body but the old alpha had handled himself extraordinarily well for a wolf who hadn’t fought like that in a while. He looked down to the gash on his leg and grimaced when he touched it, then got in the shower to rinse the blood off and clenched his jaw as he whined like a wolf a few times.